The past few days, while listening to NPR, I’ve been hearing about opposition to the use of the word retard. I’ve never thought of the word as particularly offensive. Even when I hear the term used in an insulting context, I still think of the word by its original definition: to make slow; delay the development or progress of (an action, process, etc.); hinder or impede.
I don’t think we’re really getting at the issue when we attempt to change the language we use because certain words and phrases have been leveraged in a negative context. We really need to get at the root of what causes people to use disparaging terms and find out how to alter their thinking. If we simply take words out of common parlance, they’ll just be replaced by something else. Which term is worse, retard or glass-licker?
I cringe every time I hear any derogatory term. It’s even harder to admit I’ve been guilty of using them in the past. We all have our biases and fears of the unknown. Rather than wasting time trying to change our language, why not spend some time trying to educate us and help us alter our viewpoints?
Let’s have an open an honest discourse. If we talk about racism, classism, sexism, etc. with open hearts and minds won’t we all be better for it?
